Don’t Write Off E-prescribing

I may appear to be somewhat of a troglodyte, but I actually have  committed myself to learning to love technology.  I am the proud owner of a smart phone, have mastered my email, and actually use two different EMRs.  So, you see, this qualified me as an expert on EMRs and e-prescribing (wipe that smirk off your [...]

Link Fest: Updates on group visits, RVUs, Medicare and the ‘Physician Shortage’

I’ve been storing up some links and today seemed to be a good time to have at ‘em!  They range from the scary (Health Policy and Market) to the fun (the Efficient MD’s slide show.)
Read The Country Doc Report for another take on the group visit.  Country Doc relates how his practice does a group diabetic [...]

The Common Sense Declaration: How to Fix Health Care

I am on a reading frenzy, and finally got to the October 17, 2008 issue of Medical Economics.  There was an excellent article by Elizabeth A. Pector, MD, on fixing health care.  I will highlight some key points, but encourage all of you to see the entire article (pages 29-33.)  (www.memag.com)
“Establish equal rights for doctors.”  Dr. [...]

Wave the Wand: The Medical Home Mandate

I am intrigued with the idea of the “medical home”. 
When hearing about the concept, my first thought was, isn’t this what we are trying to do already? 
My second thought was–and just how are we going to pay for all this?
Below is “ Crossing the Quality Chasm: 10 Simple Rules for the 21st Century Health Care System,” [...]

What if Starbucks billed like ICD-10?

Ah, yes, ICD-10 is coming!  Yes, the new coding system with 10 times more codes than the previous is slated to go live in 2011.  Much of the world now uses ICD-10 because it has more codes, as apparently, we are running out of codes.  You, my beloved provider, will be shouldering the burden of [...]

Black Tuesday For Primary Care: Why Physicians Would Rather Do Anything Else

I have been in practice for 15 years, and most of my colleagues hate primary care.  (Remember, I come from a cohort of internists, the ones that should be the defenders primary care!)  In my rovings as the ExtraMD I still do some primary care, to keep me honest, and to remind me how hard [...]

Entering the Lions Den: Negotiating With Health Plans

Fighting with insurers isn’t something I anticipated doing when I was in my “save the world through medicine” phase (?haze?) during medical school, but none the less, here we are!  I came across an interesting article in Modern Medicine titled: “You Can Negotiate With Health Plans,” by Robert Lowes, from the Jan 4, 2008 edition.  I will [...]